The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) has launched a renewed push to rebuild its youth membership as the organisation grapples with a noticeable decline in the number of young workers joining the union.
Chairperson of the NUPW Youth League, Randicia Kellman, said the union has begun a series of outreach activities aimed at reconnecting with younger employees and making the organisation more visible in workplaces.
During the exercise, Youth League members planned visits to several major public buildings in the Warrens, St Michael business district as part of their effort to meet young employees directly.
“We recognise that young people don’t get to see the union enough. They don’t get to see the union outside,” Kellman said on Tuesday during the visibility tour.
“So we are outside with new shirts, bright and visible for everybody to see, to meet the young workers where they are in the workplaces, to hear their issues and to be here with them. There are so many businesses that we are going to. We are hoping to touch all the towers in Warrens. We are hoping to get in the Barrack building, the Baobab Towers. We’re hoping to touch absolutely everywhere that we possibly can.”
The outreach initiative comes as many young workers continue to face both longstanding and emerging challenges in the workplace, Kellman said.
“Young people are facing a lot of issues in the workplace, the old issues that our parents were facing as well as the new issues,” she said. “So contract work, issues with AI and digitisation. So we are here to let people know we’re here to represent them. The young people are still a part of the union. We are still fighting and we’re still working.”
But Kellman acknowledged that many young workers remain unfamiliar with the union and the support it offers.
“They don’t really know about the union that is the honest truth but strangely enough, they have all of the issues that I just listed that are fears and concerns. So it’s really for us to tell them we are here, this is a place that you could come, you could join and you could be represented.”
She also acknowledged that some workers remain hesitant about joining unions, citing a lack of trust and visibility as key factors.
“I think that persons have a lack of trust in the unions and that’s part of why we are coming out to be visible, because when people don’t see you as frequently as they want they think that you’re not there, you’re not working. So it’s now for us to come out, let people see us, let them know the work is being done even though they can’t always see it.”
Research conducted by the Youth League showed that declining membership among young workers is often linked to a lack of information rather than a lack of interest, Kellman said.
“We’ve recognised that the youth numbers are dwindling and the youth league has actually been researching the issue. What we found is that it’s not that persons aren’t interested in being a part of the union or persons aren’t interested in the workplace issues, it’s just generally a lot of them don’t know where to come or how to get certain information.
“Persons believe that when they have issues, they either need to sit and worry at home or grumble to their peers without knowing that there’s actually some place that they could come, lay their grievances and have their issues dealt with and handled accordingly.”
She said the visibility exercise forms part of a broader programme aimed at re-engaging young people and increasing awareness about the role of unions.
“This is the beginning of a full programme rollout,” Kellman said. “When I tell you this is not something that is going to be the last, you’re going to be seeing us on the road more often, you’re going to be seeing us in the schools.
“We have some other big programmes that we will be rolling out, getting the education into the secondary schools from even the primary school level, letting people know about the union and the purpose of the union and getting young people engaged in advocacy and speaking up for themselves.”
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